Friday, January 16, 2009

Bacon hock

My butcher sells bacon hocks for about £2.50 each. There is enough meat on one to feed three to four people - and it is delicious.

Some smoked hocks are very salty, and require soaking for 12 hours or longer. The ones I get do not. I put a hock into a stockpot (or pasta pan), cover it with water, bring it to a simmer, skim off the froth, and turn down the heat to its lowest. My pot has a heavy base; a low flame causes the liquid (with the pot uncovered) merely to show a few bubbles rising to the surface, rather than to simmer. Gentle heat tenderises the meat without drying it out. (Recipes that imply that meat will remain moist if surrounded by liquid or vapour - from the effect of a foil wrapping, say - are misleading. Indeed the liquid, because it is so effective at cooking, will dry out the meat faster.) I give it two hours.

It seems unadventurous to poach the hock in plain water - though it is hard to believe that a few surrounding vegetables will have much effect. However, you can keep the liquid and use it as a stock; for that reason, I usually throw in an onion or two, a couple of carrots, celery if I have it, and peppercorns.

3 comments:

While I've never used a pressure cooker, I know that many swear by them. What puzzles me is that subjecting meat to this kind of cooking should in theory dry it out; but clearly pressure cooker owners get moist and tender results.

About Me

I am the author of a cookbook, Don't Sweat the Aubergine (Short Books). I have been food columnist for the New Statesman; and I write book reviews, and articles about books and the books industry, for papers including The Times, Guardian, Bookseller, and Times Literary Supplement. I am the joint editor, with Liz Thomson, of a book industry news service, BookBrunch.
I have also written Eclipse: The Story of the Rogue, the Madam and the Horse That Changed Racing. It was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, and won me the Best New Writer prize at the British Sports Book Awards.
My books: www.nicholasclee.co.uk